A young woman from Hyderabad who was working as a maid in Saudi Arabia has died in hospital, allegedly after being tortured by her employer.
Now, the family of Asima Khatoon, 25, is desperate for help in bringing her body home.
Ms Khatoon moved to Riyadh in December. Her mother says that in a secretly made phone call, she detailed how she was being held hostage, burnt and tortured mentally and physically by her employer, identified as Abdul Rahman Ali Mohammed.
“I had sent my daughter abroad to work and earn. My daughter was locked in a room as soon as she reached there. She was not given food. They kept her locked and opened the door in the evening. My daughter used to call me and cry,” said Ghousia Khatoon to news agency ANI.
News of her death on May 2 came just days after the Telangana government says it wrote to the Centre asking to help free her from her employer.
“We wrote a letter to Saudi Arabia consulate on behalf of state government. We are trying to bring her body back,” said police inspector G Ramesh.
Ms Khatoon had travelled to Riyadh after being promised a job at a hospital by the sort of agents who run large rackets based on supplying cheap labour from India to the Middle East. Her family says that Ms Khatoon had been promised that if she did not like the job, she would be able to return home after three months.
